Presidential Election of 2008 << 2004 The 56th quadrennial United States presidential election was held on November 4, 2008. Outgoing Republican President George W. Bush's policies and actions and the American public's desire for change were key issues throughout the campaign. During the presidential election campaign, the major-party candidates ran on a platform of change and reform in Washington. Domestic policy and the economy eventually emerged as the main themes in the last few months of the election campaign after the onset of the 2008 economic crisis. Democrat Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain. Nine states changed allegiance from the 2004 election. Each had voted for the Republican nominee in 2004 and contributed to Obama's sizable Electoral College victory. The selected electors from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia voted for President and Vice President of the United States on December 15, 2008. Those votes were tallied before a joint session of Congress on January 8, 2009. Obama received 365 electoral votes, and McCain 173.

There were several unique aspects of the 2008 election. The election was the first in which an African American was elected President. It was also the first time two sitting senators ran against each other. The 2008 election was the first in 56 years in which neither an incumbent president nor a vice president ran — Bush was constitutionally limited from seeking a third term by the Twenty-second Amendment; Vice President Dick Cheney chose not to seek the presidency. It was also the first time the Republican Party nominated a woman for Vice President (Sarah Palin, then-Governor of Alaska). Additionally, it was the first election in which both major parties nominated candidates who were born outside of the contiguous United States. Voter turnout for the 2008 election was the highest in at least 40 years. The 2008 Presidential Election About Watch and Favorite Watch Watching this resources will notify you when proposed changes or new versions are created so you can keep track of improvements that have been made. Favorite Favoriting this resource allows you to save it in the “My Resources” tab of your account. There, you can easily access this resource later when you’re ready to customize it or assign it to your students.

The 2008 Presidential Election The 2008 U.S. presidential election possessed many unique attributes and was won in a historic landslide victory by Democrat Barack Obama. Learning Objective Analyze the key components of Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election Key Points The 2008 presidential election featured many firsts, including the widespread use of the Internet in campaigning and the first African American elected to the presidency . The Obama victory can be attributed to a number of factors, including the Obama campaign 's abilities to both distance itself from the unpopular Bush administration and to emphasize the change and experience it would bring the White House. The 2008 presidential election was characterized by high levels of participation, aided by the widespread use of the Internet. Obama's win set the record for the most amount of votes cast for a U.S. presidential candidate . Term Full Text The 2008 Presidential Election The 2008 U.S. presidential election was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. Barack Obama , the junior U.S. senator from Illinois, was nominated as the Democratic candidate while John McCain, the senior U.S.

senator from Arizona, was nominated as the Republican candidate. Joe Biden, U.S. senator from Delaware, was later chosen as Obama's running mate. Meanwhile, Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska, was chosen as McCain's running mate. Barack Obama won the election by a historic majority vote . After winning the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama was sworn into office on January 20, 2009. Unique Attributes The 2008 presidential election was exceptional in many ways. It was the first U.S. presidential election in which an African American was elected president, having also been the first African American to be nominated by a major party. Obama also received the highest number of votes in the history of U.S. presidential elections. In addition, the 2008 presidential election was the first time that both major party candidates were sitting U.S. senators. The election was also characterized by high levels of public interest and engagement. Social media sites joined traditional forms of campaign activity to generate increased election interest. Stances and Campaign Strategy Obama's overwhelming presidential win can be attributed to many factors. His strong opposition to the war in Iraq was a view embraced by many Americans.

Meanwhile, McCain supported the war; his statement that the U.S. could be in Iraq for the next 50 to 100 years proved costly, even though it was intended as a peacetime presence. Obama was more successful than McCain in separating himself from the unpopular George W. Bush administration. The downturn in the economy provided an additional boost to the Obama campaign after McCain made comments that portrayed him as out of touch with the average American and the economic plight of the nation. The use of social media websites was another factor better handled by the Obama campaign, and one that appealed to many young voters. In general, the Obama campaign was much more adept at emphasizing the change and experience Obama would bring to the presidency, and distancing itself from the Bush administration, than was the McCain campaign. The Obama campaign also emphasized the experience Hillary Clinton would carry as Secretary of State . Meanwhile the McCain campaign introduced Sarah Palin as the vice presidential candidate hoping to balance McCain's more extensive experience with the potential of a relatively unknown politician. However, Palin was often painted by the media as lacking knowledge on key issues. Although Palin appealed to the conservative base of the GOP, there remained the fear that her conservative views would alienate moderates and independents .

Electoral Vote The 2008 U.S. presidential election took place on November 4, 2008. While John McCain won the majority vote in traditionally Republican states and in his home state of Arizona, Barack Obama's wins in his home state of Illinois, the Northeast, and the swing states of Ohio and Pennsylvania precluded a McCain victory. Obama also won some of the southern states and the contested states of Iowa and New Mexico. The projected electoral vote count came to 365 for Obama and 173 for McCain. Obama Wins Election - The New York Times The New York Times Continue reading the main story Photo Supporters of Senator Barack Obama cheered during a rally in Chicago on Tuesday as they heard that he won in Pennsylvania. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times Barack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive. Mr. Obama’s election amounted to a national catharsis — a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr. Obama’s call for a change in the direction and the tone of the country.

But it was just as much a strikingly symbolic moment in the evolution of the nation’s fraught racial history, a breakthrough that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago. Mr. Obama, 47, a first-term Democratic senator from Illinois, defeated Senator John McCain , Republican of Arizona, a former prisoner of war who was making his second bid for the presidency. Mr. McCain offered a gracious concession speech at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix shortly after 11:15 p.m. Eastern time, quieting his booing supporters more than once when he mentioned Mr. Obama’s name. “Senator Obama has achieved a great thing for himself, and for his country,” he said, adding that he was sorry that Mr. Obama’s grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who helped raise him during his teenage years, had not lived to see the day; she died on Sunday. Continue reading the main story “These are difficult times for our country, and I pledged to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face,” Mr. McCain said.

“I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story To the very end, Mr. McCain’s campaign was eclipsed by an opponent who was nothing short of a phenomenon, drawing huge crowds epitomized by the tens of thousands of people who turned out to hear Mr. Obama’s victory speech in Grant Park in Chicago. Mr. McCain also fought the headwinds of a relentlessly hostile political environment, weighted down with the baggage left to him by President Bush and an economic collapse that took place in the middle of the general election campaign. The day shimmered with history as voters began lining up before dark — hours before polls opened — to take part in the culmination of a campaign that, over the course of two years, commanded an extraordinary amount of attention from the American public. As the returns became known, and Mr. Obama passed milestone after milestone, winning Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Iowa and New Mexico — many Americans rolled into the streets to celebrate what many described, with perhaps overstated if understandable exhilaration, a new era in a country where just 143 years ago, Mr.

Obama, as a black man, could have been owned as a slave. For Republicans, especially the conservatives who have dominated the party for nearly three decades, the night represented a bitter setback and left them contemplating where they now stand in American politics. Mr. Obama led his party in a decisive sweep of Congress, putting Democrats in control of both the House and the Senate — by overwhelming numbers — and the White House for the first time since 1995, when Bill Clinton was president. The president-elect and his expanded Democratic majority now faces the task of governing the country through a difficult period: the likelihood of a deep and prolonged recession. The roster of defeated Republicans included some notable party moderates — including Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire and Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut— signaling that the Republican conference that convenes in Washington next January will not only be smaller, but more conservative. Mr. Obama will come into office after an election in which he laid out a number of clear promises: to cut taxes for most Americans, to get the United States out of Iraq in a fast ifand? orderly fashion, and to expand health care. In a recognition of the difficult transition he faces, given the economic crisis, Mr.

Obama is expected to begin filling White House jobs as early as this week. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Democratic sweep took down some well-known Republican senators, including Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and John E. Sununu of New Hampshire. But Democrats failed to achieve the 60-seat majority required to prevent Republican filibusters. Mr. Obama defeated Mr. McCain in Ohio, a central battleground in American politics, despite a huge effort that brought Mr. McCain and his running-mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, back there repeatedly. Ohio was a state Mr. Obama lost decisively to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York in the Democratic primary. Mr. McCain failed to take from Mr. Obama the two Democratic states that were at the top of his target list: New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. And in addition to Ohio, Democrats captured two other Republican states, Iowa and New Mexico. Photo Senator Barack Obama voted with his wife, Michelle, on Tuesday morning in Chicago. Credit Doug Mills/The New York Times Mr. Obama comes into office with Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, his vice-presidential running mate. Even before the final results were called, there were indications that Mr.

McCain’s advisers were in fact unhappy with their vice-presidential candidate, Ms. Palin, who was announced by Mr. McCain to an explosion of enthusiasm and interest by conservatives and since caused a series of embarrassments for Mr. McCain. Mr. McCain’s chief strategist, Steve Schmidt, demurred when asked whether he thought in was happy with Ms. Palin’s performance. “I’m not going to go there,” Mr. Schmidt said. “There’ll be time for the post-mortems in the race.” Initial signs were that Mr. Obama benefited from a huge turnout of voters, but particularly among blacks. That group of voters made up 13 percent of the electorate on Tuesday, according to surveys of people leaving the polls, compared with 11 percent in 2006. In North Carolina, Republicans said that the huge surge of African-Americans was one of the big factors that lead to Mrs. Dole’s loss. Mr. Obama also did strikingly well among Hispanic voters, beating Mr. McCain did far less better among those voters than Mr.

Bush did in 2004, suggesting the damage the Republican Party has suffered among those voters over four years in which Republicans have been at the forefront on the effort to crack down on illegal immigrants As thousands of people gathered in downtown Chicago to celebrate their hometown candidate, the audience erupted in bursts of applause each time a state was called for Mr. Obama. The party took on the air of a drive-in movie theater, with his supporters remaining eerily quiet until a new development flashed across giant television screens. A thundering roar sounded when the roll call of projected Democratic victories suddenly included Ohio. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator Barack Obama stood on the brink of an historic victory Tuesday after he appeared to have won enough electoral votes to defeat Senator John McCain for president and to become the first African-American to serve as the nation’s chief executive. Mr. Obama won Ohio, a key battleground in American presidential politics, and held off assaults by Mr. McCain in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, the top two states that Democrats won in 2004 that Mr. McCain had fought to take back. The exit polls found that a broad majority of voters considered the economy to be the most important issue facing the nation. And Mr.

Obama was viewed as much more qualified than Mr.McCain to deal with that issue. Blacks made up 13 percent of the total electorate, up from 11 percent last time, the polls showed. More than 95 percent of them said they had voted for Mr. Obama, an African-American. Mr. Obama was also winning overwhelmingly among Latino voters. Mr. McCain was faring much poorer among those voters compared with how President Bush performed in 2004, suggesting a long-term problem for the Republican Party with a rapidly growing demographic group. Mr. Obama held on to the two top Democratic states that Mr. McCain had targeted to win back, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain were in their home states late Tuesday, awaiting final results. Tens of thousands of Mr. Obama’s supporters gathered in Grant Park in his hometown, Chicago, to greet him. Mr. McCain was planning to address supporters at a ballroom in the elegant Biltmore Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in Phoenix.

In what was shaping up as a good night for the Democratic Party, its candidates knocked off Republican senators in New Hampshire and North Carolina, while picking up an open Senate seat in Virginia with the victory of Mark R. Warner, a former governor, to succeed John W. Warner, a Republican who is retiring. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Senator John E. Sununu of New Hampshire was ousted by former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, while Senator Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina was beaten by a Democratic state lawmaker, Kay R. Hagan. Reflecting Mr. Obama’s ability to draw new voters to his side, 70 percent of people voting for the first time said they had backed him. A similar percentage of voters under 30 years old also supported him. The only age group that went for Mr. McCain, who is 72, were voters 65 and older, according to the exit polls conducted by Edison/Mitofsky. Photo Senator John McCain and his wife, Cindy, voted at a polling station near their home in Phoenix. Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times One in eight respondents said that age was an important factor in their vote; of those, three quarters voted for Mr. Obama.

The election ended what by any definition was one of the most remarkable contests in American political history, drawing what was by every appearance unparalleled public interest. Throughout the day, people lined up at the polls for hours — some showing up before dawn — to cast their votes. Aides to both campaigns said that anecdotal evidence suggested record-high voter turnout. Reflecting the intensity of the two candidates, Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama took a page from what Mr. Bushfull first reference to President Bush did in 2004 and continued to campaign after the polls opened. Mr. McCain left his home in Arizona after voting early Tuesday to fly to Colorado and New Mexico, two states where Mr. Bush won four years ago but where Mr. Obama waged a spirited battle. These were symbolically appropriate final campaign stops for Mr. McCain, reflecting the imperative he felt of trying to defend Republican states against a challenge from Mr. Obama. “Get out there and vote,” Mr. McCain said in Grand Junction, Colo. “I need your help. Volunteer, knock on doors, get your neighbors to the polls, drag ‘em there if you need to.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story By contrast, Mr.

Obama flew from his home in Chicago to Indiana, a state that in many ways came to epitomize the audacity of his effort this year. Indiana for a Democrat since President Lyndon B. Johnson’s landslide victory in 1964, and Mr. Obama made an intense bid for support there. He later returned home to Chicago play basketball, his election-day ritual. Mr. Obama cast his ballot at 7:36 a.m., Central time, at the Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School in Chicago, accompanied by his wife, Michelle. “I noticed that Michelle took a long time though,” he said afterwards. “I had to check to see who she was voting for.” Mr. McCain voted later, at 9:08 a.m., Mountain time, at the Albright United Methodist Church in Phoenix. He and his wife, Cindy, were greeted there by supporters with cheers of “Senator McCain” and “Thank you, senator.” The nation’s faltering economy seemed to weigh in voters’ minds: A survey of voters leaving polling places found that 6 in 10 said this was their dominant concern, a reflection of the economic collapse that provided the backdrop for the general election contest.

Six in 10 voters said the economy was their top concern. In a sign of how much the terrain of this election changed since Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain started campaigning in their party caucuses and primaries more than a year ago, only 1 in 10 cited the war in Iraq. The first exit polls suggested a spike in voting among blacks that had been a source of concern among Republicans: 13 percent of the electorate, compared with 11 percent in 2004. Across the country — in Florida, Georgia, New York and North Carolina, to name a few places — polling stations reported overflow crowds, with long waits and packed parking lots. Mr. McCain’s advisers had predicted that 130 million people would vote, compared with 123.5 million who cast ballots four years ago, reflecting the intense interest in the race. Mr. Obama waged in many ways an improbable campaign. He is a first-term United States senator from Illinois who just five years ago was serving as a state senator. It was because of that résumé that his main opponent in the battle for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, thought that he would not last.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story But Mr. Obama proved to be a phenomenal campaigner, drawing huge and excited crowds and defeating Mrs. Clinton in Iowa, an overwhelmingly white state. That outcome, more than any other single vote, signaled to Democratic leaders the potency of the Obama appeal. But the two candidates battled through the very last primary battle in June before Mrs. Clinton, bowing to the inevitable, pulled out of the race. Mr. McCain also won his party’s nomination improbably after he had, a year ago, appeared doomed when his campaign ran out of money. He persevered through a combination of scrappiness and a field of primary opponents who each had problems with the fractured Republican electorate. In his campaign, Mr. Obama offered some fairly ambitious promises, including tax cuts for most Americans, a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq and an expansion of health care coverage. Mr. McCain pledged not to leave Iraq without a victory and promised to continue Mr. Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy. Early exit polls suggested that Mr. Obama was receiving the support of half of men. If that continued, he would be the first Democratic candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976 to do so.

Seven in 10 voters under 30 backed Mr. Obama, and voters over 65 supported Mr. McCain. Julie Bosman, John M. Broder, Jack Healy, Dalia Sussman, Ian Urbina and Jeff Zeleny contributed reporting. John McCain - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Google Early Life “Now, we begin the most important part of our campaign: to make a respectful, determined and convincing case to the American people that our campaign and my election as president, given the alternatives presented by our friends in the other party, are in the best interests of the country we love,” McCain said during a victory speech. Did You Know? If he had won the 2008 presidential race, John McCain would have become the oldest U.S. president in history at the age of 72. John Sidney McCain III was born on August 29, 1936, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone, the second of three children born to naval officer John S. McCain Jr. and his wife, Roberta. At the time of his birth, the McCain family was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, under American control.

Both McCain’s father and paternal grandfather, John Sidney McCain, Sr., were four-star admirals and his father rose to command all the U.S. naval forces in the Pacific. McCain spent his childhood and adolescent years moving between naval bases in America and abroad. He attended Episcopal high School, a private preparatory boarding school in Alexandria, Virginia , graduating in 1954. POW in Vietnam Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, McCain graduated (fifth from the bottom of his class) from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958. He also graduated from flight school in 1960. With the outbreak of the Vietnam War , McCain volunteered for combat duty and began flying carrier-based attack planes on low-altitude bombing runs against the North Vietnamese. He escaped serious injury on July 29, 1967, when his A-4 Skyhawk plane was accidentally shot by a missile on board the USS Forestal, causing explosions and fires that killed 134. On October 26, 1967, during his 23rd air mission, McCain’s plane was shot down during a bombing run over the North Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

He broke both arms and one leg during the ensuing crash. McCain was moved to Hoa Loa prison, nicknamed the “Hanoi Hilton,” on December 9, 1969. His captors soon learned he was the son of a high-ranking officer in the U.S. Navy and repeatedly offered him early release, but McCain refused, not wanting to violate the military code of conduct and knowing that the North Vietnamese would use his release as a powerful piece of propaganda. McCain eventually spent five and a half years in various prison camps, three and a half of those in solitary confinement, and was repeatedly beaten and tortured before he was finally released, along with other American POWs, on March 14, 1973, less than two months after the Vietnam cease fire went into effect. McCain earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. Though McCain had lost most of his physical strength and flexibility, he was determined to continue serving as a naval aviator. After a painful nine months of rehabilitation, he returned to flying duty, but it soon became clear that his injuries had permanently impaired his ability to advance in the Navy.

Introduction to Politics His introduction to politics came in 1976, when he was assigned as the Navy’s liaison to the U.S. Senate. In 1981, after marrying his second wife, Cindy Hensley, McCain retired from the Navy, and moved to Phoenix, Arizona . While working in public relations for his father-in-law’s beer distribution business, he began establishing connections in politics. McCain was first elected to political office on November 2, 1982, easily winning a seat in the House of Representatives after his well-known war record helped overcome doubts about his “carpetbagger” status. He was re-elected in 1984. Having adapted well to the largely conservative politics of his home state, McCain was a loyal supporter of the Reagan administration and numbered among a group of young “new Right.” In 1986, after the retirement of the longtime Arizona senator and prominent Republican Barry Goldwater, McCain won election to the U.S. Senate. Both in the House and the Senate, McCain earned a reputation as a conservative politician who nonetheless was not afraid to question the ruling Republican orthodoxy. In 1983, for example, he called for the withdrawal of U.S.

Marines from Lebanon, and he also publicly criticized the administration’s handling of the Iran-Contra affair. Campaigns for President McCain weathered the scandal and won re-election to the Senate three times, each time with a solid majority. His reputation as a maverick politician with firm beliefs and a quick temper only increased, and many were impressed with his willingness to be extremely open with the public and the press. He has worked diligently in support of increased tobacco legislation and especially the reform of the campaign finance system, professing some more liberal views and generally proving to be more complex than merely a straight-ahead conservative. In 1999, McCain published Faith of My Fathers, the story of his family’s military history and his own experiences as a POW. He also emerged as a solid challenger to the frontrunner, Governor George W. Bush of Texas , for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000. Many people from both political parties found his straight talk refreshing. In the New Hampshire primary, McCain won by a surprisingly wide margin, largely bolstered by independent voters and cross-over Democrats.

After a roller-coaster ride during the primaries–Bush won South Carolina , while McCain captured Michigan and Arizona–Bush emerged triumphant on “Super Tuesday” in early March 2000, winning New York and California , among a number of others. Though McCain won in most of the New England states, his large electoral deficit forced him to “suspend” his campaign indefinitely. On May 9, after holding out for two months, McCain formally endorsed Bush. In August 2000, McCain was diagnosed with skin cancer lesions on his face and arm, which doctors determined were unrelated to a similar lesion which he had removed in 1993. He subsequently underwent surgery, during which all the cancerous tissue was successfully removed. McCain also underwent routine prostate surgery for an enlarged prostate in August of 2001. McCain was back in the headlines in the spring of 2001, when the Senate debated and eventually passed, by a vote of 59-41, a broad overhaul of the campaign finance system. The bill was the fruit of McCain’s six-year effort, with Democratic Senator Russell D. Feingold of Wisconsin to reform the system.

Central to the McCain-Feingold bill was a controversial ban on the unrestricted contributions to political parties known as “soft money.” The new law was narrowly upheld by the Supreme Court in 2003. Maverick Reputation McCain supported the Iraq War, but criticized The Pentagon several times, especially about low troop strength. At one point, McCain declared he had “no confidence” in the leadership of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. McCain supported the 2007 surge of more than 20,000 troops, which supporters say has increased security in Iraq. McCain also publicly supported President Bush’s bid for re-election, even though he differed with Bush on several issues including torture, pork barrel spending, illegal immigration, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and global warming. He also defended the Vietnam War record of Bush’s opponent, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts , which came under attack during the campaign. With Bush limited to two terms, McCain officially entered the 2008 presidential race on April 25, 2007, during an announcement in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. McCain and running mate Sarah Palin were defeated by Democrat Barack Obama in the November 2008 election.

Personal Life McCain married Carol Shepp, a model originally from Philadelphia, on July 3, 1965. He adopted her two young children from a previous marriage (Doug and Andy Shepp) and they had a daughter (Sydney, b. 1966). The couple divorced in April 1980. McCain met Cindy Lou Hensley, a teacher from Phoenix and daughter of a prosperous Arizona beer distributor, while she was on vacation in 1979 with her parents in Hawaii . He was still married at the time, but separated from his first wife. John and Cindy McCain were married May 17, 1980 in Phoenix. They have four children: Meghan (b. 1984), John IV (known as Jack, b. 1986), James (known as Jimmy, b. 1988), and Bridget (b. 1991 in Bangladesh, adopted by the McCains in 1993). Biography courtesy of BIO.com McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate - The New York Times The New York Times Politics |McCain Chooses Palin as Running Mate Search Continue reading the main story Photo Senator John McCain introduced Gov.

Sarah Palin of Alaska as his choice for vice president at a rally Friday in Dayton, Ohio. Credit Jim Wilson/The New York Times DAYTON, Ohio — Senator John McCain astonished the political world on Friday by naming Sarah Palin , a little-known governor of Alaska and self-described “hockey mom” with almost no foreign policy experience, as his running mate on the Republican presidential ticket. Ms. Palin, 44, a social conservative, former union member and mother of five who has been governor for two years, was on none of the widely discussed McCain campaign short lists for vice president. In selecting her, Mr. McCain reached far outside the Washington Beltway in an election year in which the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, is running on a platform of change. “She’s not from these parts, and she’s not from Washington, but when you get to know her, you’re going to be as impressed as I am,” Mr. McCain told a midday rally of 15,000 people in a basketball arena here shortly before Ms. Palin, with her husband and four of her children, strode out onto the stage. Within moments, Ms.

Palin made an explicit appeal to the disappointed supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton by praising not only Mrs. Clinton but also another woman who has been on a major presidential ticket, Geraldine A. Ferraro, Walter F. Mondale’s Democratic running mate in 1984. Continue reading the main story “Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America, but it turns out the women of America aren’t finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all,” Ms. Palin said to huge applause. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Ms. Palin and Mr. McCain then embarked on a bus tour across Ohio and north into western Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh, a route that took in a wide swath of the central battleground in this year’s presidential campaign. Mr. McCain’s pick, Ms. Palin, who opposes abortion, played especially well among evangelicals and other social conservatives, who have always viewed Mr. McCain warily and who have been jittery in recent weeks because of reports that Mr. McCain was considering naming a running mate who favors abortion rights. The McCain campaign sees Ms. Palin as a kindred spirit to Mr.

McCain, particularly in her history of taking heat from fellow Republicans for bucking them on issues and spotlighting their ethical failings. Like Mr. McCain’s, her political profile is built in part on her opposition to questionable government spending projects. But they differ on a number of policies. Ms. Palin opposed Mr. McCain on one of the most prominent Alaskan issues: She supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and Mr. McCain opposes it, much to the consternation of some Republicans. Mr. McCain’s environmental policy accepts that global warming is driven by pollution; Ms. Palin has said she is not convinced. A spokeswoman for Ms. Palin, Maria Comella, said, “Governor Palin not only stands with John McCain in his belief that global warming is a critical issue that must be addressed, but she has been a leader in addressing climate change.” Ms. Palin, a former mayor of the small town of Wasilla, an Anchorage suburb, rose to prominence as a whistle-blower uncovering ethical misconduct in state government.

Her selection amounted to a gamble that an infusion of new leadership — and the novelty of the Republican Party ’s first female candidate for vice president — would more than compensate for the risk that Ms. Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central arguments, that Mr. Obama is too inexperienced to be president. Democrats and at least some shocked Republicans questioned the judgment of Mr. McCain, who has said repeatedly on the campaign trail that his running mate should have the qualifications to immediately step into the role of commander in chief. Photo Gov. Sarah Palin, Cindy McCain and Senator John McCain in Ohio after Mr. McCain introduced Ms. Palin as his running mate. Credit Jim Wilson/The New York Times Mr. McCain’s words on the matter have had more than usual resonance this year because of his age — he turned 72 on Friday, and hopes to be the oldest person ever elected to a first term — and his history with skin cancer. Ms. Palin appears to have traveled very little outside the United States. In July 2007, she had to get a passport before she visited members of the Alaska National Guard stationed in Kuwait, according to her deputy communications director, Sharon Leighow.

She also visited wounded troops in Germany during that trip. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. McCain’s announcement of Ms. Palin came in the immediate afterglow that Democrats were enjoying from their nomination of Mr. Obama, and for one news cycle at least, as Republicans intended, Ms. Palin effectively muffled the news coverage of Mr. Obama’s acceptance speech to 80,000 people at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Thursday night. Mr. Obama wished her well in a call from his campaign bus. “He also wished her good luck, but not too much luck,” said Robert Gibbs, a senior strategist to Mr. Obama. Mr. Obama’s fellow Democrats were considerably less welcoming, and most said they were flabbergasted by what they characterized as a desperate, cynical or dangerous choice, given Ms. Palin’s lack of any experience in national security. “On his 72nd birthday, this is the guy’s judgment of who he wants one heartbeat from the presidency?” said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, who said the selection smacked of political panic. “Please.” Mr. McCain’s advisers said Friday that Mr. McCain was well aware that Ms.

Palin would be criticized for her lack of foreign policy experience, but that he viewed her as exceptionally talented and intelligent and that he felt she would be able to be educated quickly. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy “She’s going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years, and most doctors think that he’ll be around at least that long,” said Charlie Black, one of Mr. McCain’s top advisers, making light of concerns about Mr. McCain’s health, which Mr. McCain’s doctors reported as excellent in May. Many conservatives said that the choice would energize them, giving Mr. McCain the support of a highly active group of voters and volunteers whose support was crucial to both of President Bush’s victories. “They’re beyond ecstatic,” said Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition. Ms. Palin is known to conservatives for opting not to have an abortion after learning that the child she was carrying, her youngest, had Down syndrome. “It is almost impossible to exaggerate how important that is to the conservative faith community,” Mr. Reed said.

The choice of Ms. Palin was reminiscent of former President George Bush’s selection of Dan Quayle, then a barely known senator from Indiana as his running mate in 1988. Photo Gov. Sarah Palin at the rally at a Dayton, Ohio, arena on Friday. Ms. Palin made an appeal to female supporters of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Credit Jim Wilson/The New York Times It was far from clear Friday whether adding a woman to the ticket would persuade Clinton supporters to come over to the Republicans, given Ms. Palin’s differences with Mrs. Clinton on issues from abortion rights to her positions on health care and climate change. Some women said that the pick could be seen as patronizing, a suggestion that women would vote based on a candidate’s sex rather than on positions. But others saw the choice of Ms. Palin as a welcome step. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” said Kimberly Myers, a retired transit worker in Pittsburgh who had originally supported Mrs. Clinton but who said that Mr. McCain’s choice would win him her vote. “She’s actually broken the glass ceiling.” As they began gathering in Minneapolis-St.

Paul for the start of their convention on Monday, some Republican delegates said they were concerned that Ms. Palin did not have the experience in foreign policy or national security to be commander in chief. “We’re in a global war, we’re in a global economy, so it’s less than honest if someone says that this woman is qualified to lead America right now,” said Todd Burkhalter, a Republican delegate from Mobile, Ala.. Her selection was kept secret until Friday morning, after the two men who had been rumored to be on Mr. McCain’s short list, former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, let it be known they were out of the running. The McCain campaign said that Mr. McCain first met Ms. Palin in February this year at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington and came away “extraordinarily impressed.” But Mr. McCain apparently has spent little time with her. Ms. Palin flew to Flagstaff, Ariz., on Wednesday evening to meet with two of Mr. McCain’s senior campaign aides, Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter, said Jill Hazelbaker, a campaign spokeswoman.

The group met at the Flagstaff home of Bob Delgado, the chief executive officer of the Hensley Corporation, the family business of Cindy McCain, Mr. McCain’s wife. After meeting with Mrs. McCain there the next morning, Ms. Palin was taken to the McCain vacation compound near Sedona, where Mr. McCain offered her a spot on the ticket at 11 a.m. Advertisement Continue reading the main story She flew to Ohio later that day with Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Salter, and checked into a hotel as the Upton family. Ms. Palin’s children, who had been told they were going to Ohio to celebrate their parents’ 20th wedding anniversary on Friday, were informed there that their mother would be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. Thursday evening she had a final meeting with Mr. McCain. One adviser suggested that although Mr. McCain was sure about his choice, he wanted to sit down with Ms. Palin one last time before he made what he knew would be an astonishing announcement the next morning. As recently as last month, Ms.

Palin appeared to dismiss the importance of the vice presidency in an interview with Larry Kudlow of CNBC, who asked her about her prospects for the job. “I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me, what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day?” Ms. Palin told Mr. Kudlow. “I’m used to being very productive and working real hard.” Correction: September 3, 2008 An article on Saturday about Senator John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate misstated the historical precedence of her candidacy and that of Geraldine Ferraro. Numerous women over the years have run for president and vice president on minor party tickets. Ms. Palin and Ms. Ferraro are not the only women who have been on presidential tickets. Michael Cooper reported from Dayton and New Concord, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, and Elisabeth Bumiller from Washington. Reporting was contributed by John Harwood, Patrick Healy, Carl Hulse, Michael Luo, Adam Nagourney, Larry Rohter and Jeff Zeleny.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: ALASKAN IS McCAIN’S CHOICE; FIRST WOMAN ON G.O.P. TICKET. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe

Question: Who was John McCain's running partner in the 2008 American Presidential election?
Answer: SARAH PALIN